Affidavit No. 5205/2009

Sworn Statement

After having been warned to tell the truth and nothing but the truth or else I shall be subjected to penal action, I, the undersigned, Mirshed Hasan Rashid „Atiyya, of Palestinian nationality, holder of ID No. 999845753, born on 3 January 1974, a construction worker, and a resident of the area near the Abu-al-Rish checkpoint, the old city of Hebron, Hebron governorate, would like to declare the following:

I live in the area near the Israeli army checkpoint set up south of al-Shuhada‟ Street, which is called the Abu-al-Rish checkpoint or al-Saydaliya checkpoint. My house is located at a distance of approximately 20 metres away from the checkpoint. My neighbour, Sa‟d-al-Din Sa‟id Bakr Zaru Marwani, about 46 years old, has a house located at a distance of about 50 metres from mine, located across the street.

At around 6:15 pm on Sunday, 27 December 2009, I heard a person screaming in pain on the street while I was present in my house. I looked through the eastern window that overlooks the street and saw a group of about 40 young Israeli men, who were almost 20 years of age and wearing short sportswear on the street near my neighbour Sa‟d ad Din‟s house. Of these, about three young men were armed with rifles. About six of these men punched and kicked my neighbour and tried to drag him towards the checkpoint. My neighbour resisted and attempted to protect his face and head with his hands. Usually, the aforementioned group, in civilian clothing, run along the street as a form of exercise, which they partake in outside their official working hours. Most of the time, they are soldiers from the military unit that serves in the area. After the men beat Sa‟d-al-Din sporadically for about 15 minutes, attempting to drag him, two soldiers who were positioned at the checkpoint arrived. Almost 20 years of age, the soldiers wore brown berets, indicating that they were members of the Golani military unit. They grabbed Sa‟d al-Din‟s hands, fastened them behind his back, and dragged him towards the checkpoint. After his hands were fastened, more men beat Sa‟d al-Din. His son Nasr, about 19 years old, was also present in the area. He followed after his father, as well as the soldiers and athletes. While he was being pushed, the father and the soldiers bumbed into a mobile bathroom, which soldiers use at the checkpoint. The father fell in that area, sustaining an injury to his face above the nose. The bathroom is located between the checkpoint and Sa‟d‟s house. As the number of offenders increased, the son became angry and kicked one of the attackers, driving him away from his father and causing the attacker to fall on the ground. Then, all of the offenders and the two soldiers, who were wearing the official uniform, rushed towards Nasr and severely beat him with their fists, feet and rifle butts and dragged him towards the checkpoint, where they dropped him on the ground.

I watched what was going on and looked at my watch from time to time. Nasr was beaten from 6:35 pm to 6:45 pm. Then, about ten Israeli jeeps and an armoured personnel carrier arrived and spread out around the area. A number of the soldiers who had just arrived also beat Nasr, who screamed of pain. During this time, the soldiers and athletes continued to detain the father on the sidewalk, opposite that on which his son was detained.

“He‟s dying. He‟s dying in your hands.” The father shouted and tried to push the soldiers away from his son.While Nasr was being beaten, (Palestinian bystanders) threw stones at the checkpoint for about two minutes and soldiers opened fire in the air. At around 6:45 pm, an Israeli police jeep arrived at the area from the police station near the Ibrahimi mosque. Police officers, who stayed inside the car, spoke with the persons who wore sportswear. Less than five minutes later, the father and son were led and forced into the rear part of the police car, which drove off. Three soldiers helped Nasr walk as he could not walk alone because he had been beaten. I saw blood covering his mouth and nose. An ambulance of the Red Star of David arrived at the area at the same time as or little while after the police car. After it had arrived, I heard one of the offenders request that a soldier bandage his hand on the pretext that he was hit, which the soldier did.

“Do you want to accuse the Arabs of a crime?” I asked the soldier through the window of my house. “Nothing happened to the person whose hand you are bandaging.” I added in Hebrew, which I know well.“Shut up. It‟s none of your business.” The soldier yelled at me.

Later, the person whose hand was bandaged went to the ambulance, but he was not offered any medical aid.The father and son are still detained. I was informed that they had been charged for beating soldiers. Later, I also learned that before they were beaten, Sa‟d and his son Nasr had left their house for the nearby mosque in order to perform the evening prayers. Sa‟d‟s son, Anas (about 16 years old) had left for the mosque before his father and brother Nasr. However, the men in sportswear assaulted and ordered him to return to his house, which he did.